What Is Natural Wine, Really?
Natural wine has no single legal definition, which is both its freedom and its confusion. In broad terms, natural wine is made from organically or biodynamically grown grapes, harvested by hand, fermented with wild (ambient) yeasts rather than cultivated commercial ones, and produced with little or no added sulphites and minimal intervention in the cellar. No fining agents, no concentration techniques, no flavour adjustments.
The result is wine that reflects — sometimes radically — the place it came from, the weather of the vintage, and the personality of the person who made it.
How It Differs from Conventional Wine
| Aspect | Conventional Wine | Natural Wine |
|---|---|---|
| Grape farming | Conventional agriculture, often with pesticides | Organic or biodynamic |
| Yeast | Commercial cultivated yeasts | Wild/ambient yeasts |
| Sulphites | Added during production and bottling | Minimal or none |
| Additives | Up to 70+ permitted additives in some regions | Little to none |
| Appearance | Clear, filtered | Often cloudy, unfiltered |
| Flavour | Consistent, predictable | Variable, expressive, sometimes funky |
The Flavours to Expect
Natural wine can taste like almost anything — and that is the point. Common tasting notes include cider-like freshness, earthy funk, dried fruit, fresh herbs, and a texture that feels almost alive. The word "funky" gets used a lot, and it covers anything from pleasantly farmyard to genuinely challenging.
Some natural wines are light, bright, and immediately approachable. Others are genuinely acquired tastes. The best advice is to approach them with openness rather than expectation.
Key Styles to Try First
- Pét-nat (pétillant naturel): Lightly sparkling, often fruity and fun. A great entry point.
- Orange wine: White wine made with extended skin contact, giving amber colour and tannin structure. Pair with food.
- Light-bodied reds: Gamay and Pinot Noir from natural producers tend to be bright and expressive without too much funk.
- Skin-contact whites: From Friuli, Slovenia, or Georgia — textured and complex.
Finding Good Natural Wine
Independent wine merchants are your best resource. Look for shops staffed by people who actually drink what they sell — their recommendations are usually far more useful than any classification system. Wine bars with rotating by-the-glass lists are also an excellent low-risk way to explore.
Ask questions. Good natural wine people love talking about what they stock. That conversation is part of the experience.
A Final Note
Natural wine is not categorically better than conventional wine. What it offers is a different relationship with the drink: one tied more tightly to place, season, and the decisions of a particular farmer and winemaker. Whether that matters to you depends on what you're looking for. But it is, at its best, one of the most interesting things happening in food and drink culture right now.